Zcash reached a price of $1,388 following the conclusion of sentiment polls for the NU7 network upgrade. The asset is currently trading at $1,368, reflecting a 10.9% daily increase and a 168% rise over the past 30 days. With a market capitalization of $22.9 billion, Zcash is now the ninth-largest cryptocurrency according to CoinGecko.
The community vote saw a record 66% turnout, with 2.4 million ZEC cast. Participants voted 98.9% in favor of maintaining Bitcoin-style halvings instead of adopting smooth issuance. Voters also approved faster 25-second block times, the immediate deprecation of the legacy Sprout pool, and a scope reduction for updates ready by September 30.
A disagreement emerged regarding the network sustainability mechanism for recycling fees to miners. While advisory panels preferred an immediate start, 96.6% of coinholders selected February 2031. Organizations including Shielded Labs, Project Tachyon, ZODL, the Zcash Foundation, and Valar Group have confirmed they will align with the February 2031 timeline.
Zcash has seen a price increase of over 2,500% during the past year. This growth follows the July Ironwood upgrade, which addressed a four-year-old flaw that risked counterfeit minting, and the launch of a Grayscale ETF in August. The latter provided institutional access to the asset, which analysts suggest has helped alleviate previous regulatory concerns.
